Beached 12-foot pygmy sperm whale euthanized

A 12-foot pygmy sperm whale has been euthanized after veterinarians determined that its prognosis was bleak after it stranded itself on a southeast Texas beach.

Heidi Whitehead of the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network says the whale was euthanized Wednesday night after veterinarians determined that trying to keep the more than half-ton animal alive in the network's rehabilitation tank in Galveston would only prolong is suffering. Whitehead said a necropsy was planned for Thursday to determine what caused the animal to beach itself.

Galveston police received a call around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, saying the whale had stranded itself on Jamaica Beach, an area on west Galveston Island known for resorts and beach houses.